Second Chances
by Cheeky Girl
Summary: James and Sirius go to eat at a restaurant where they see Lily Evans for the first time since 7th year, when James and Lily broke up. Will sparks fly again between James and Lily?
1. We Meet Again

A/N: Wow! My first ever fic! I have finally got off my lazy bum to start – and actually_ continue_ – to write a story! =D Anyways! Hope you enjoy it! **__**

****

This story takes place after Hogwarts. The characters are 20 years old!

**_Summary:_ James and Sirius go to eat at a restaurant where they see Lily Evans for the first time since 7th year, when James and Lily broke up. Will sparks fly again between James and Lily?**

****

****

Disclaimer: Sadly I don't own Harry Potter or anything else that belongs to J.K. Rowling. I do however own the plot, and some added characters.

"Come on James! I don't want to miss the early bird special!" Yelled Sirius Black from the front door.

"All right, all right, I'm coming! Keep your hair on!" Replied his best friend, James Potter, as he was running down the stairs. "Sheesh. All you think ever think about is food!"

"And women." Added Sirius, who was getting into the car.

"Yeah," said James, shaking his head while putting the key in the ignition. "That too."

After a twenty minute drive, they finally reached the Lunar Restaurant, Sirius' favorite place to eat because of the 'early bird special'. James and Sirius got out of the car – a brand new Mercedes Benz bought by James – and walked into the restaurant, to see that it was crowded.

"Looks like we're not the only ones here for the special." Said James, taking a look around the restaurant.

"Yeah." Replied Sirius. "If you had dilly-dallied any longer back at the flat we would've missed it!" 

He too was looking around the restaurant, when his eyes fell over a young woman who looked about the same age as them, and was eating alone at the bar section. Sirius' eyes noticed the red hair, and recognized the woman immediately. _Well, well... he thought. __If it isn't Lily Evans. Hmm… - he took a good look at her up and down – _I must say that she's gotten more beautiful, if possible. Haven't seen her since the days of Hogwarts. _He mused, thinking about 7th year._

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

::** Flashback::**

_Lily and James were walking hand in hand down the corridor with the rest of the Marauders. James looked tense, while his friends kept on shooting sideward glances at him. _

_Finally, after what seemed like an hour of silence, James cleared his throat and said, "Lily, can I talk to you alone?" _

_"Sure." She replied, giving him a curious look. The Marauders took this as a sign and nodded their heads to them while they headed back to the Gryffindor common room._

_The young couple walked outside the front doors and onto the grounds of Hogwarts. It was a bright sunny day, with a warm light breeze. James and Lily sat under a large willow tree. Lily decided to break the silence and said, _

_"What's up?"_

_"Er – " James said. He felt really nervous._

_"Is something wrong?" she peered closely at his face._

_"Um – well, I don't – I don't we should go out anymore." He said in a rush, waiting for her reaction._

_First her expression was shock, and then confusion. _

_"But, but why?" she said. "What did I do?"_

_"Oh! Nothing, nothing," he said quickly. "Er – it's just that, um, with us graduating and everything – er – I think it just wouldn't work out after Hogwarts." _

Lame, _thought James. _That's the most pathetic excuse you've ever said.

_Suddenly her expression changed from confusion to anger. _

_"There's another girl, isn't there?" She said, her voice growing louder. James looked at her, shocked, and shook his head vigorously._

_"No! Never! You know it's always been you!"_

_"Then why?" she said softly, her eyes brimming with tears. "Why are you doing this?"_

_"Because… Just because Lily! It's over all right?"_

_With that said, Lily got up, and ran back up to the castle, tears flowing freely down her face. James sighed deeply, with sadness clouding his eyes. Unknown to him and Lily, Sirius had been carrying James' invisibility cloak the whole time and followed them outside. It was just then that he removed it._

_"Shit Sirius!" yelled James. "Don't tell me you heard everything!"_

_"I did." He said, shaking his head. "I didn't think you were gonna do it."_

_"I just couldn't handle it."_

_"Her loving you?"_

_"Yeah. As soon as she had told me those three words, I didn't know what to do. I didn't know how to react, I didn't know what to think. So, I ran off, and today, I broke up with her."_

_"You're the biggest idiot I've ever met." Sirius said, seriously, shaking his head._

_"I know." Said James sadly._

:: **End of Flashback **::

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Sirius! Earth to Sirius!" said James, waving a hand in front of Sirius' face.

"Wha - ? Oh, yeah, right."

"You okay there?" said James, concerned. "You look like you zoned out there."

"Uh, course not!" said Sirius, becoming cheerful again. "Excuse me," he said to the table seater. "We'd like a table for two near the bar, thanks."

"Of course sir" Said the man, nodding his head. "Nicholas," he said to a waiter who just came by. "Seat these two men at a table by the bar."

Nicholas nodded and led James and Sirius to a table just a couple meters away from where Lily was seated, her back facing them. _Perfect. It's about time someone's had a little reunion. _Sirius thought.

While walking to the table James muttered to Sirius, "Why the one by the bar? We usually eat in the center, where we can scope out the chicks."

"Weeell.." Sirius drawled, "I just wanted a change for tonight." _And a big one for you especially. He added silently in his head._

After seating them Nicholas handed them two menus.

"So _James_," Sirius said, saying the word 'James' a little louder so Lily would possibly hear. "What do you want to order tonight?"

"Um –," said James, his eyes scanning down the menu. "I think I'll have spaghetti tonight. How about you?"

"I'll have fish and chips as usual, _James._" Replied Sirius, emphasizing 'James' again.

James looked at him weirdly and said, "Now really, what's gotten into you?"

"Oh nothing, _nothing.."  _He replied, with a broad grin. 

"You're acting so weird! Are you sure you aren't high or anything?"

Sirius shot him a scandalized look. "Moi!? I don't do drugs _James. Drinking though…that's another subject." He grinned._

"Well you sure don't look like you're drunk. Just – I don't know. You're acting weird, that's all."

"James," Sirius said dramatically. "Tonight is a very special night."

Before James could reply, Nicholas came by, took out a pad of paper and pen and said, "May I take your orders?"

"Sure thing Nicky!" said Sirius. "I'll have the fish and chips."

"Very well, and you?" He said, looking at James.

"Um – I'll have some spaghetti."

"It will be here in a short while." Nicholas replied, taking their menus and walking away.

There was a short silence in which Sirius kept on shooting James a look that said, "I-Know-Something-You-Don't-Know" until James, who knew Sirius wouldn't tell him if he asked anyway, asked instead,  "Sooo…talk to Remus lately?"

"No.." Sirius said slowly. "Have you?"

"He owled me once. Said he was going to Italy with Natalia for a week or two."

"Who's she?"

"New girlfriend. They've been going out for almost a month now."

Sirius looked shocked. "How come he never told me! I'm supposed to be one of his best friends!"

"Maybe because the last time he had a girlfriend, you owled her as a joke and said that Remus still wets his bed."

Sirius laughed. "Oh, yeah that. That was HILARIOUS!"

James chuckled and said, "True, but she still dumped him."

"Poor guy."

"Yeah."

"So have you heard from Peter?"

"Umm… not really. Sometimes he says hi and asks how we're doing but he doesn't usually say much." 

"Yeah… the lil' bloke never really did say much."

"True…" said James.

"Say James," said Sirius, in a way as though he *just* noticed something. "Do you see that red hea -"

Sirius was cut off as Nicholas arrived just then with their orders.

"Hmm? Did you say something Padfoot?" Asked James, as their meals were placed on the table.

"Uh, yeah. But I'll tell you after we eat." Said Sirius, giving James another one of those "I-Know-Something-You-Don't-Know" looks.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  

**After they eat (A/N: I'm not going to bother with the meal part as u can see)**

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Hey Padfoot, it's your turn to take the check" said James. "I'm just going to go to the bathroom for a minute. Wait here, all right?"

"Yeah, yeah sure." Said Sirius somewhat distractedly, as he was looking at Lily who was still sitting at the bar. 

_Good, still here. Now…how can I get James to know she's here?_

Just then an idea struck his head, and he casually passed by Lily, pretended to do a double-take, and said in a surprised voice: "No! It's can't be! _Lily Evans?"_

Lily turned around to see where the voice had come from, and when she her eyes landed on Sirius her eyes grew wide in realization. "Oh my gosh! Sirius Black? Holy cow! How have you been? I haven't see you since -"

"- Hogwarts." Sirius finished. "What's a pretty girl like you doing here alone?"

Lily blushed slightly. "You've never changed Sirius. You're still a flirt! Well… I was going to meet up with a friend, but she sold out on me last minute because she wasn't feeling well."

"Oh. That's too bad."

"Yeah, I was thinking of visiting her later. So where do you work?"

"I work at the Ministry of Magic in the Department of Magical Games and Sports." 

"Oh really?" said Lily excitedly. "I was just hired at the Ministry a couple days ago! I'm with the Committee on Experimental Charms!"

Sirius laughed. "Of course! What else could I have expected?" 

At the same time James came out of the bathroom and was walking back toward him and Sirius' table, where he didn't see him. 

_Jeez…I wasn't gone that long. Where'd he go?_

He heard Sirius laugh and turned to where the sound was coming from, and stopped dead in his tracks. His eyes were fixed on a beautiful young woman that was currently laughing with his best friend.

_Oh. My. Gosh. That had better not be Lily Evans. Shit. What's she doing here? She's so hot! Why didn't I see her before? She still looks gorgeous!  AND WHY IS SIRIUS TALKING TO HER??  His mind screamed._

Sirius noticed James standing there gaping like an idiot and said, "Oi James! You'll never guess who I just ran into!"

James finally composed himself and walked over. He couldn't help but notice that Lily's smile flickered as he got closer to them.

"Hey Lils." He said. "Long time no see."

_He used my nickname. Lily thought. "Hey James. What's new with you?"_

"Not much. Sirius and I just bought a flat outside of Diagon Alley. And yourself?"

"Really now? I bought a flat around that area too!"

"Now how cool is that?" said Sirius happily. "We're like, neighbors!"

Lily laughed. _Still sounds nice as ever. _Thought James. "Yeah, I guess we are. Anyways, I got to go. I promised I'd meet Arabella Figg at her house. She's the one that's not feeling well Sirius. You guys remember her, don't you?"

"Oh yeah!" Said Sirius. "I mean, how could I not? I went out with her."

Lily smiled. "Yeah, you two were a crazy couple. But now, she's been recently engaged."

"Oh, to whom?" James asked. He noticed Sirius' eyes go slightly wide in shock.

"Amos. Amos Diggory." 

"Well how about that." Said Sirius, with the slightest trace of bitterness. "She'll be Arabella Diggory soon."

"Yeah, she will be. But she doesn't know if she'll change her last name or not. But I really got to get going, maybe I'll see you guys later!" Lily said, and started to walk her way out of the restaurant.

"Bye Lils!" Sirius cried after her. 

There was a moment of silence where Sirius was looking at James, who was staring at the spot where Lily just was.

"James," said Sirius quietly. "She left already."

"Huh?" said James distractedly. "Yeah, I already knew that."

"I saw how you looked at her."

"Looked at her how?" said James, pretending to be confused.

"You miss her."

"Can we talk about this somewhere else?"

"Fine. In the car on our way back to the new flat."

"Okay…" James sighed.

A/N: OKAY! First chapter finally done! I don't know whether I want to continue this or not, we'll see. Maybe it'll depend on how many reviews I get ;). So far this story is kind of just like an experiment I guess. Any suggestions/tips are welcome with open arms! =) Hope you liked it this beginning.

Xoxo

-Ramona 


	2. Mix Up

A/N: Thank you all for your encouraging and most wonderful reviews! =) Just cause of that I _suppose _I could continue to the second chapter… hope you enjoy it! 

**_*If you haven't read OoTP, don't continue reading this A/N*_**

By the way, did you love all the Cho/Harry action happening in the 5th book? I sure did =) I just _had _to say that. I wasn't expecting her to like him back… and although it seems like Harry doesn't like her though (at least I think he doesn't) as much as he used to by the end, I still think that by her blushing as their eyes met on the train indicates that she still has some feelings for him, even though she's going out with that Michael Corner. =p

And… Percy now looks like the total idiot siding with Fudge, because Fudge has finally admitted that Voldemort's returned, and that Harry and Dumbledore aren't going loony after all! =D I wonder what he'll say back to his family, now that he's oh so very wrong about everything! =D

Oh, and I know that Arabella is some old squib, but just for this story I'm going to keep continue using her and pretend as if she's the same age as Lily and James.

*****************************************************************

**Summary_: James and Sirius go to eat at a restaurant where they see Lily Evans for the first time since 7th year, when James and Lily broke up. Will sparks fly again between James and Lily?_**

**Disclaimer: same as before: Sadly I don't own Harry Potter or anything else that belongs to J.K. Rowling. I do however own the plot, and some added characters.**

*****************************************************************

"Wasn't that a nice dinner?" Sirius asked in a would be pleasant voice.

"Yeah, sure." James grumbled. He couldn't really explain why but he was determinedly not looking at Sirius' eyes, and tried to keep them focused on the road ahead. 

"Why, Prongs! What's the matter?" Sirius asked in a mock concerned voice. "You seem as if you just met someone you didn't want to!"

"You knew she was there the whole time, didn't you? That's why you wanted a table by the bar, so you could keep an eye on her, and then be *surprised* to see her just so we could talk."

Stunned for a moment at his best friend's ability to practically read his mind, he quickly recovered and said, "Well you basically covered it there, but admit it. You missed her, and I'm sure she missed you too, judging by the look on her face."

Sirius could tell that James' eyes lit in a somewhat hopeful manner, but he kept his tone emotionless. "Whatever. It's been what? Two years now? We've both moved on, so whatever you're trying to achieve, I advise you drop it right now."

"Then why haven't you been dating all this time?" Sirius persisted.

"I _do _date!" James said in a slightly raised voice.

"Yeah sure, but not date _date._ Those previous… _two _girls in two years have only lasted about 2-4 weeks. Face it, you're still hung up on her."

"I'm _not _hung up on her!" James said loudly. "There's nothing to be hung up over! She went out with that Tristan Short – a _very _suspicious character I might add – a week after we broke up! That's an _obvious sign that she _obviously _didn't have any more feelings for me then and even now!"_

Though somewhat amused by his friend's ramblings, Sirius said in an impatient voice: "Oh come off it James, they didn't go out! He only asked her to go to Graduation Ball with her only cause a _certain someone -" _ Sirius paused to cough. "- broke up with her leaving her dateless! And you know also that his date was sick in the Hospital Wing, meaning they either go stag or go together!"

Sirius knew he had made a point, because James remained silent as they drove on. He looked at him earnestly.

"You two were each other's first love! The spark is still _there, waiting to be rekindled." He added dramatically._

James snorted at hearing this, and said: "Yeah, just like that spark between you and Arabella is waiting to be rekindled."

"Well Prongs that is something that went out a long time ago."

"_Of course. Padfoot ol' buddy." _

"It is! Now see here it is quite plain that she has most definitely moved on, because she is marrying Diggory!"

"So what's stopping you with getting back with her?" James knew that Sirius got the point at which he was getting at, which was _You-Know-Diggory-Isn't-The-One-She-Truly-Wants._

Lucky for Sirius he didn't have a chance to answer because they just pulled up to the flat, and to their great surprise they saw Lily Evans walk up to the doorway with what looked like to be a key in her hand, and papers in the other.

"Why Lily!" Said Sirius, as he got out of the car; he didn't notice James scowl behind his back. "Missed us already? We just got home!"

However Lily wore a confused expression on her face. "Huh? What are you talking about?"

"Our – _house._" James said in a clear voice. "Me and Sirius' flat." He was talking as if he was to a young child. Sirius turned and sent him a nasty look. He didn't know why he was being rude to Lily, but it just seemed to be the first thing that came out of his mouth. Lily who was at the doorstep, still looked sort of confused, and shocked at James' rudeness.

"This is _my _flat! I bought this place!" said Lily.

"No.. We did." Said James.

"I did!"

"No you didn't!"

"Yes I did!"

"Children please!" Sirius said. "I don't want to hear one of those "You did it – no you did it" fights! Lily, I think you may have made a mistake." He said calmly.

"No I didn't! What am I, stupid?" she said. James could tell her quick temper was starting to heat up. "I have the papers right here in my hand." She handed them to Sirius.

"Well then," he said, eyes scanning down the paper. "It looks like as if the realtor has made some sort of mix-up, and sold us the same flat!" 

"What?!" Lily and James together. 

Lily glared at him and said, "What am I going to do?"

"Maybe you could go and stay at Arabella's." Sneered James. Again, he didn't know why he was being so mean to her.

"I'm allergic to all her cats." She said shortly.

"Oh, forgot." Was all James could say, although in a careless tone.

"Well," Sirius said, rubbing his hands. "Since it's late, Lily you might as well stay with us for the night, and we'll go talk to the realtor tomorrow!"

"Fine." She grumbled.

"But – but, you _can't!_" protested James.

"Oh, and why not?" Lily said icily. "I bought this place, just like you and Sirius did."

Not being able to think of an excuse, James merely glared while Lily opened the door to the house. While she stepped Sirius said, "We'll take your boxes for you!"

"No we won't." James said to Sirius.

"Oh yes we will!" Sirius said, levitating a box with his wand. "Come on, stop being such a prat, I don't know why you're acting like this."

"That's because she's invading our flat!"

"It's just a mix up, James."

"Whatever."

Ten minutes later James and Sirius brought all of Lily's boxes inside, where they saw her making some tea. 

"Here's some tea for you guys, and I left a plate of cookies over there. I'm going to bed now, so I'll see you two tomorrow morning." With that, she walked toward one of the two rooms. 

"Hey! That's where I'm staying!" said James.

"Oh no it's not! You're going to be sharing a room with Sirius, or you can just have the couch!" Lily shot back, and slammed the door behind her.

"Bossy as always." Grumbled James.

"Listen," said Sirius, who began munching on a cookie. "For now, we might as well all try to get along, meaning you and her. After all, we'll be living under the same roof for a while."

"She could've poisoned that you know." Said James, eyeing the tea Sirius was now sipping.

Sirius rolled his eyes. "Oh stop being so immature. You're twenty years old, and you know Lily wouldn't do something like that."

"Sure, I'll know that when I see you alive tomorrow."

Sirius sighed this time. "Good night James." He said, finishing the last of his tea and walking to the other bedroom.

After James watched Sirius shut the door behind him, he sighed and plopped himself down on the sofa where he began to think how he could get out of Lily's bad side.

*****************************************************************

A/N: And that's the end of chapter two! Hope you liked it, and don't forget to review =) Any ideas are welcome with open arms =)


End file.
